Friday, June 06, 2014

Beguni -- ar Ashare Goppo

Eggplant coated in a batter of chickpea flour and deep fried

This post was first posted in 2010. It is being reposted.

The rain had started out strong, not meek like other days. Huge blobs of water, hit the warm earth rapidly, with an urgency to quench out its parched dryness. The rain was now hitting down hard on her window, with that drumming sound, she loved about rains.

Outside the windows, the world seemed painted by Monet. She could hardly make out anything, even the Krishnachura by Bubai's house with all its red flowers was barely discernible. She sighed and returned to the open pages of the Resnick-Halliday, trying to figure out the resonant frequency of some stupid string of length L while the rain drummed on merrily on her windows.

"I will put these up for drying in your room", Ma said, a pile of still wet clothes on her arm, droplets of water clinging on to her jet black strands. Not waiting for a response, Ma started putting up a makeshift clothes line, right above her study desk. As the fan whirred slowly trying to dry out the clothes she sat beneath Dada's dancing pajama legs still trying to figure out the string.

She could hear Ma in the kitchen now, the pots clinging, the whoosh of water down the sink. And then she could feel the sharp smell of Mustard up her nostrils. The hot oil now hissed as something hit and then there was the familiar sound of "chyank-chok", repetitive it went, the same rhythm, a "chyank" followed by a "chonk". Ma was making Beguni, brinjal slices dipped in a chickpea flour batter and fried crisp. There would beKhichuri and Beguni for lunch, a rainy day staple. She hated brinjal and didn't care much for a Khichuri. But Ma would make an omlette for her, even one for Dada, she knew and smiled to herself.

"PING"!! The sound startled her.

She looked up and outside the huge glass window, the rain had trickled down to a drizzle now. The lights on the Empire State building glowed against the gray slated sky.
She looked back at her computer. Her husband was on the IM.

He wrote, " So shall I get some eggplants? what about Beguni and Khichuri tonight ?"

Smiling she gathered her laptop and her belongings. She didn't want to miss the 6:15 subway home.

***********

This is my first attempt at Food Fiction inspired by the fantastic tales of Kalyan@Finely Chopped. I often write about the past in my posts. The past is not perfect, the present more not so. While I write my regular posts, I stick to the reality, the truth, I don't transcend the fine line from reality to fiction. But this category of Food Fiction, lets me mingle my memories with bits of imagination, so the emotions and the nostalgia is still there but also there is a little bit of the author's creative mind in play.

*Ashare Goppo == Monsoon Tales.Depending on its usage it also means "made up tales"

Beguni or eggplant slices dipped in a chickpea flour batter and then deep fried is a long time Bengali favorite. Actually anything deep fried is a popular Bengali or for that matter popular Indian snack. With Bongs, the thing is they adore their eggplants and so not being satisfied by Begun Bhaja alone they go a step ahead to make Beguni.

The Beguni is a popular side kick to the Khichuri on rainy days and that is how we had it last week amidst pouring rain. If it is a high-dry day and no one wants Khichuri, Beguni is still very much welcome as an evening snack with muri aka Puffed Rice or as one of the fried veggies accompanying Dal for Lunch.

Update: As one of the readers said, instead of Rice Flour you can also add 1-2 tsp of poppy seeds to the batter for a crunch. Also a little Kalonji/Nigella seeds in the batter may be added for an alternate version.

How I Did It

Wash the eggplant well and chop in thin rounds or semi circle. Smear with turmeric and salt and keep aside for 10 -15 mins

Make a batter of chickpea flour with all the ingredients listed under batter. Add water gradually to make a batter as thick as a Pakoda batter.

Heat Oil for deep frying in a Kadhai

Dip the eggplant slices in the chickpea flour batter so that it is uniformly coated and then gently slide into the hot oil. Fry till golden brown on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

39 comments:

I so wish i could write like you. I always enjoy reading your post, it is like reading a very intresting shorty story. Never deep fried aubergine. Looks delicous, ofcours eit would as it is deep fried :-)

I thought I was seeing a beautiful painting live thro your words..write a novel ,you have all the talent and creativity that binds the reader with the content...and Beguni ke mana korbe brishti porle n even if it doesn't rain ..lovely post ..superb job!hugs and smiles

Besides the beguni , i am spellbound Sandeepa.. I could see the huge drops beat the window with a smear of the red krishnachura myself.. as if I was sitting there. Keep these coming more often. I am going to keep coming back to read this again and again.

Even I am not a great fan of eggplant bajji to be honest the bajji kinds. But I love your story and u're such a vivid writer and you bring the picture right before my eyes Sandeepa! Rains are faraway in my part of the world but I can give a try as the rest of the crowd at home loves bajji alltime ;)

That's so exactly the way I'd write (though somehow I don't put my best writings on the blog!)Thankfully it's not raining here today but I do want to have kichdi and beguni fried, tho I hate brinjal but fried anything is perfectly acceptable!

:) I love the itch which has started in K's blog - may it not be restricted to the Bong bloggers ;)

Funnily enough, we have started having beguni bhaja with our khichdi too - courtesy my Bong friend in Delhi and her traditions which we have seamlessly adapted. Just as her two kids now eat beetroot porial on a regular basis after liking it at our place!

A Wonderful idea-Food Fiction. So many memories that are related to food, that come flooding back to mind almost always. To pen them down into a tale sounds very good. I enjoyed going through your story. Keep them coming. And those fried brinjals also look too deelish.

LinkWithin

Share This

Search This Blog

The Book

About Me

Predominantly a Bong, who loves being a Mom and loves to cook among other things for the li'l one and the big ones.She loves to write too and you will find her food spiced up with stories. Mainly a collection of Bengali Recipes with other kinds thrown in, in good measure. A Snapshot of Bengali Cuisine